History

The Ashworth Laboratories, King's Buildings.

Edinburgh Genomics was formed in 2013 following the merging of The Genepool and ARK Genomics.

Edinburgh Genomics is a world leading genomics and bioinformatics facility delivering high volume data and cutting-edge analyses to a large community of collaborators and customers across academia, government, and industry.

The Edinburgh Genomics teams have been delivering genomics data and analysis to researchers for nearly 20 years, and next-generation sequencing data since 2008. We have a wealth of experience and a record of delivery that cements our position as one of the leading genomics facilities in Europe.

Edinburgh Genomics is embedded in the intense academic environment of the University of Edinburgh, spanning medical, veterinary and biological realms. Our staff comprises highly skilled and motivated individuals who are dedicated to delivering high-quality outputs in collaboration with colleagues across the spectrum of the biomedical sciences.

Our newly appointed Chief Operating Officer, Joel Fearnley, is a significant addition to the Edinburgh Genomics leadership team that already includes Professor Tim Aitman and Professor Mark Blaxter. Professor Aitman’s research has combined the use of classical genetics with genome technologies to investigate the genetics of common complex and rare human disorders. Mark Blaxter, Professor of Evolutionary Genomics within the School of Biological Sciences, has research interests in non-model animal genomics, ecological genomics and bioinformatics. Other key members of the Senior Management Team include Dr Karim Gharbi, Facility Manager (Genome Science), who is an established researcher in genetical genomics; Dr Mick Watson, Head of Bioinformatics, who is active in bioinformatics, metagenomics, microbial genomics and has extensive industrial experience; and Dr Javier Santoyo-Lopez, Facility Manager at our Roslin site, who is an experienced bioinformatician with extensive work in genomics. This team has, between them, many decades of experience in delivering genomics facility access to collaborators. They fully understand the structure and pressures of both academic and industrial research, and also the complexities of working in wide-ranging collaborations.

The Roslin Institute, Easter Bush

To keep us at the forefront of cutting edge technologies, our recent acquisitions include the most up-to-date sequencing machines: the HiSeq X and HiSeq 4000. The HiSeq X is Illumina's latest population-scale sequencing platform capable of delivering the equivalent of 1,800 human genomes at 30x per instrument per year, producing very high quality data at low cost and fast turnaround times. The HiSeq X instruments, of which we have 6, can be used to sequence the genome of any organism at 30X coverage or more across a wide range of genome sizes, while the HiSeq 4000 is licensed for all protocols on all species. We are currently sequencing around 200 whole human and animal genomes per week across all the HiSeq X instruments. In addition to these we also offer sequencing on the MiSeq (up to 2x300bp sequencing), the ABI 3730 (Sanger sequencing), genotyping and gene expression arrays on the Illumina and Affymetrix platforms, and bespoke bioinformatics analysis.

Edinburgh Genomics has "recognised genomics facility" status with the three main UK research councils. Edinburgh Genomics is one of the two genomics nodes of the NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, has National Capability core funding from BBSRC, and is one of three UK MRC High Throughput Sequencing Hubs. We have also received key support from by The Scottish Universities' life Science Alliance, The Roslin Foundation, The Darwin Trust and the Wellcome Trust.

Edinburgh Genomics (Genome Science) is based within the University of Edinburgh, at the King's Buildings campus, in custom refurbished laboratory and bioinformatics space. Edinburgh Genomics (Clinical) is housed at the Roslin Institute at Easter Bush in newly refurbished laboratories, with close links to the national supercomputer.

Hear more about the ground-breaking work that Edinburgh Genomics is carrying out:

Latest news

Scientists in Scotland have gained access to the most up-to-date gene sequencing technology, aiding research to better understand human and animal diseases.
The technology – acquired by the University of Edinburgh – will enable studies into the genetics of virtually any species, including bacteria and viruses as well as plants.
Experts at the University’s Edinburgh Genomics facility say the...